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Viki News

I use a Roku stick to watch Viki content (now that the app on my Smart TV is one of many that is no longer so very “smart”) and it works a treat, but I got the following email from Viki of some changes to be aware of in the coming weeks. Just a little heads up…

Dear Vikian,

Happy Tuesday! (Or Wednesday, for those of you across the globe!)

We noticed that you have a Viki Pass subscription and have watched some shows using our app on Roku, so we wanted to let you know about some important changes coming your way.

Your Viki Pass plan includes early or limited access to Kocowa TV, which has switched over to using DRM-enabled video streams. DRM, or Digital Rights Management, is a technology used by content providers to protect their content. However, our app on Roku wasn’t originally designed to play these streams.

This means that, starting May 1st, when you land on a Kocowa TV title, the video playback will end up failing. But not for long! Our team is working hard to revamp our app so that ALL videos on Viki can be played on Roku for a far better experience. Look out for a new release at the end of May 2018!

In the meantime, check out how you can watch Viki Pass Plus shows using our other available apps and devices here.

We hope to have our new Roku app available soon so you can continue watching without any interruptions!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Community Experience team via support.viki.com.

It sounds like they’re on top of things, which is more than I can say for some (like Samsung ‘smart’ TVs which they can’t be bothered to update). Getting the Roku was a smart decision, especially as it was under $40 and I can use it on other HDMI TVs.